Ducati bosses have joined rider Valentino Rossi in welcoming a relaxation of the MotoGP testing rules in 2012, saying that it is better to pay the nine-time world champion to ride the Desmosedici GP12 than to sleep!

The team can now use Rossi and Hayden, instead of their three-seconds-a-lap-slower test riders. as much as they want at a designated test track so long as they do not exceed the imposed 240 tyre limit.

"For sure in an economical situation like this, having Valentino Rossi sleeping in his room paid by us instead of riding our bike and giving us information, it seems not the more efficient way to use our money. So this is something that, especially because we have to save money, so there is a rule that limits the test you can do, which is 240 tyres," said technical chief Filippo Preziosi.

"You can test just with Bridgestone and just with 240 tires every year and that makes a limit for renting the track, fuel, engines, spare parts and everything. In this limit, if you ask your test rider to test the bike or Valentino to test the bike, because both are paid, there is not one euro make of cost."